Санкт-Петербург - Pietari - Saint Petersburg

*****Lopussa on pieni teksti suomeksi!!******

For those of you who don’t know, I went to Russia two weekends ago with around 80 other Rotary Exchange Students living in Finland right now. The trip was absolutely fantastic! We were only in Russia about three days, but it was worth every penny. The cultural differences were very interesting, and now I am lucky enough to be able to compare Russia to both Canada AND Finland. I have actually become so accustomed to the Finnish way of life that some of the things that happened in Russia that shocked me happen in Canada too. This trip has made me a little worried for the culture shock I’m going to have to go through when I go back to Canada. But, one step at a time!

Saint Petersburg is, by far, the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen. Every single building in the city was made with such care. The MacDonald’s looks like it was built to host the Queen of England! Every building I saw in the city was artistically made and decorated. The normal Canadian/ Finnish cities look terrible in comparison! Here are just a few photos of average buildings. These aren’t special, just random buildings in Saint Petersburg:

Though the buildings are beautiful, quite a lot of them are very poorly maintained. I understand why; you can’t spend all your time and money making sure the outside of your building looks just as beautiful as it did 100-200 years ago, but it gives the city an almost creepy feel, and looks a little run down. I saw things like this all over Saint Petersburg:

One of the first places we visited was the Winter Palace and Hermitage. The building was built as, just as the name says, a winter palace, and what a palace it was. I won’t waste our time attempting to describe the beauty of the building, so I’ll just show you a couple out of the ~300 photos I took of this building.

Saint Petersburg has a lot of canals, and is nick-named “Venice of the North”. Also, as we explored the city with our guide, she would list off the architects of the famous buildings and a great majority of them were Italian. There was an exchange student on the trip who is from Italy, and he said that certain places really reminded him of home (except the fact that it was so cold!).

We were also privileged enough to see a ballet while in Russia. Russia is well known for its ballets, and I was very excited to watch. The theatre was beautiful, which was no surprise, and very large. It had five levels of seats and a good sized stage. I saw there was a harp in the orchestra pit and became very excited, missing my harp at home.

While I was in Russia, my brain was still programmed to speak Finnish to store clerks and cashiers, which made for some interesting moments. I would say “kiitos” to everyone then curse and attempt to say ‘thank you’ in Russian, which is спасибо, and pronounced kind of like ‘spashiba’. We went out for lunch at a Russian pancake place and here’s a picture of the menu I had to read:

I laughed out loud when I realised that I would have to order from the menu, and I had NO IDEA how ANY of the words were pronounced. Thankfully, a few of the other exchange students I was with had taken classes in Russian and taught me how to pronounce the terrifying words. I felt totally useless for most of my time in Russia, since I spoke absolutely nothing, and was a real tourist. It felt strange to feel like an outsider all over again.

When we came back into Finland and I overheard conversations of random people that were in Finnish, I almost cried in happiness. It was like I was back home! I knew this language! I would no longer get strange stares from random citizens! (Okay, I would still be stared at, but only because I spoke so funny and made no sense. The normal stares that I’m used to.)

On the very last day, at our very last stop at a market, there were a bunch of Russian soldiers marching around a square. We watched them at first, rather intimidated, even after they were dismissed. Eventually one of the exchange students had the guts to run up to them and say “can I take a picture with you?” All the soldiers beamed from ear to ear and invited everyone else to come in. They were some of the friendliest people I have ever met, and I can honestly say that I did not expect it at all. I chatted a little bit with some of the soldiers who spoke better English, and they were all very interested in where we were from and what we were doing here. This experience with the soldiers was one of the bigger highlights of the trip for me, and is something I will never forget.

And here are some other random pictures for you to enjoy!

I snapped a picture of a Russian police officer from the bus. Pretty sure you're not aloud to, but oh well. He just looks so cool!!

The Spilled Blood Church.

Jos eivät ymmärtäneet, mää kävin Pietarissa kaksi viikoa sitten. Siellä oli aivan kaunis paikka, ja vähän erilainen kuin Suomi ja Kanada. Mää en kääntä nyt kaikki teksti, koska en jaksa, sori. Mutta, kun olin Pietarissa, minä huomasin, että nyt Suomi on minun koti. Minä tulin vähän ikävä Suomesta, ja yritin niin monta kerta puhua suomea jonkun Venäläinsen kanssa. Alussa, heidän ilme olivat aivan mahtava. En tarvitse ymmärtää venäjää nähdä, että ne mietivat ’mitä helvetti se kieli oli?!’ Mutta kohta olin turhautunut, että en osaa yhtää venäjää. Minä halusin mennä Suomeen, mihin kaikki ymmärtää mitä minä sanon (Öö, siis, mihin kaikki ymmärtää ehkä puoli mitä minä yritän sanoa). Minä olin hurmioitunut kun tulimme takaisin Suomeen kun minä ymmärsin ne ruokalistat ja kyltti. Minä tunnin, että olin kotona. Täällä on minun paikka. 

Päiväni jäljellä - The Days I Have Left

*sniff* Do you smell that? *sniff sniff* That’s the smell of blog neglect.

But, in my defence, I have a good reason for it; I’ve only got 3 ½ months left in my exchange. I’m serious *weeps uncontrollably* At the ‘four month’s left’ marker I freaked out. I couldn’t possibly be leaving this beautiful country in four months. It’s not possible! Inconceivable!! From that point on I’ve been soaking up every second I’ve got left like a sponge in a desert.

Don’t get me wrong Canada, I still like you and have missed all of you, but going back to Canada means leaving my new home behind.

Yes, Finland is my new home. You want an example? The thought of not going to sauna every week hurts my soul. I plan on buying a pool pass and spending hours in our crappy Canadian saunas, complaining about how Finnish saunas are much better compared to this lukewarm, electric closet. I also enjoy Salmiakki and get excited when I see the number 8, which pretty much means I’m a Finn.

But, in all seriousness, if I talk any more about me having to leave Finland I’m gonna get tears on my computer, so how about an update?

I changed families last Sunday. This is my final family during the exchange. I didn’t actually have a room for the first five days because it was being built. The room I have now is crazy nice, better than my own room back in Canada. My third family is as big as my first family; six kids living at home, but this time two have already moved out. I’m sure a lot of you are attempting to imagine how I can live with so many kids, but it has become very, very normal to me. I am having trouble imagining my life without these little bundles of joy running around me all day.

A big plus for this family is no one can really speak English, so I have to speak Finnish. If we don’t understand each other we can’t resort to just giving up and speaking English; we have to explain ourselves in different ways, look up words in the dictionary, or act it out like charades. I am damned good at forming complex sentences using only a few words and a lot of sound effects (with the mandatory frantic hand gesture).

The Kinnunen family are very sporty in general, but hockey seems to be the main attraction. The hockey world championships (I actually have no idea what the name is in English) are in May and I can’t wait to watch with them. I’m hoping there are no serious Canada/Finland games, because I might end up sleeping in the shed. One of my new little brothers, Väinö-Matti (pronounced in English ‘Vai-neuh’), is an avid hockey fan. It scares me how much hockey facts can fit into that eleven-year-old’s brain.

The Kinnunens have a dog named Fairy. Fairy is not a Finnish name at all, so they pronounce it in many different ways. Sometimes it sounds like ‘Fai-reu’, sometimes ‘Fai-ree’, and sometimes ‘Fai-ray’. The last example sounds almost exactly like my Finnish name ‘Klai-ray’. This is rather confusing, and half of the time I’m not sure which one of us they’re talking to. Many jokes have been made about me pissing on couches and taking me for walks.

I went ice fishing for the first time last Tuesday, and I had a blast! It was WAY better than I thought it would be. I ended up going with a bunch of 4-10 year old kids, which was a lot of fun cause they’d try to speak really fast to me so I wouldn’t understand. I caught 7 fish, but only five were big enough to eat. I only squealed like a little girl three times while pulling the hooks out of the fish, and only felt bad for them five times.

Last Friday I went to a Kärpät game. The Kärpäts are Oulu’s hockey team playing in the SM-Liiga, which is like the highest level you can play in Finland. Think of it as an NHL farm team. The game was great; we won 4-0! I had fun listening to the chants and cries from the crowd. The team is doing really well this year, and I’m hoping to go to one of the playoff games!

That same Friday we had our first day of ‘spring’. It was beautiful. I almost cried when I saw blue sky. I forgot the sky could do that! I went for a two-hour walk in the sunshine, and felt extremely warm even though it was still only 4 degrees. Despite all the sun we’ve had this week; our backyard is still a giant ice-rink, which is awesome when attempting to walk to the bus stop.

I’m also experiencing something that Finns call “spring headaches”. This means my brain doesn’t know what to do with all this sun and light and warmth. When I wake up at 6:30 to catch my bus I can actually see where I’m walking. This is amazing. My brain has gotten used to assuming that if the sun is up it’s around 12:00 in the afternoon, which gives me a constant feeling of being late for school. I’m hoping this goes away soon. 

Don’t expect a blog post again anytime soon. As much as I want to keep you updated, I’d rather tell you all about it later than miss getting to experience it now… but I will probably upload some photos. I’m uploading all my Finland photos onto Facebook, and they can be found here: To Infin(land)ity and Beyond. I’ve set the album so that you don’t have to be a member of Facebook to see it. I know it’s not the same as a blog post, but it’s better than nothing, right?

Anyways, I can’t think of anything else to say, so I’ll leave you with some pictures. You can find all my blog photos and more if you follow the link above.

My room, in the prosess of being built

My little brother Onni kicking my butt in NHL 2011

WE MADE A FORT!!

My beautiful new siblings

With some minor adjustments, I actually fit into the fort. One of the problems of growing up.... :(

My brandnew room, complete with Canadian and Finnish flags! :D

Anteeksi Suomalainen, mutta en vissiin kirjoita suomeksi enää. Minä tykän kirjoittaa suomeksi, mutta olen niin hidas ja tarvitsen paljon aikaa kirjoittaa. Ehkä, ensi kerralla, mutta ei nyt. SORI!

WANHAT

WANHAT oli todennäköisesti paras päiväni Suomessa. Oikeasti erinomainen päivä.

Kiitos kaikille, kuka autaa ja järjestää! En osa kiittää tarpeeksi. Minun tanssi pari oli aivan mahtava, kiitos Joel! Sinä olit niin kärsivällinen, kun minä en ymmärtänyt. Joka tanssi tuntia oli hauska, ja minä tulen ikävä tanssista tunnista.

Mutta juu, oli upea päivä, ja en ikinä unohda! :D :D :D

----

I don't know any words in English, French, German or Finnish that can do the vanhojen tanssit justice. It was an outstandingly fantastic day that I will never forget.

We had three performances of our dances, two in the morning and one in the evening. Though things went wrong in each of them, the overall performance was always well done. The shows consisted of ten traditional dances from around the world, including the Virginia Reel, the Salty Dog Rag, and the Finnish Tango. After the ten formal dances we had our oma tanssi, which means "own dance", which we choreographed ourselves.

I had an amazing partner, who put up with all of my stunned looks and moments of confusion. He was so patient in explaining what we were doing, and I don't think he'll ever understand how much I appreciated it!

A video of our oma tanssi can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB7VdePznGA. Some of the choreography won't make sense to you if you don't speak Finnish, but I feel I really need to explain the second song. The song is called koirakaveri by Heikki Kulla, and the name translates to "dog friend" (but it sounds much catchier in Finnish). I admit that I don't understand most of the song, but the guy wrote the song for a girl, saying he's like her dog, or something to do with dogs... and that's why the boys are crawling around on the floor. It might have been my favorite part of the dance, just for the humiliated faces of the guys. You could just see them thinking "Saatanan perkele, täs on uus puku" which roughly translates to "rolling around on the floor is the best. I should do this more often."
You might also notice that the song after Sexy Back - around 5:25 - uses the 'n-word' very frequently, and that it is not bleeped out! That's something I've noticed about Finland; they don't cut out the swear words. They do it sometimes if the swearing is in Finnish, but I hear F-bombs on the radio all the time, and I even heard an uncensored version of Classico!

Sadly, there isn't really much more I can say about this day, unless you want a list of "awesome" synonyms, so here, have a bunch of pictures! Hope you enjoy 'em! (HINT: click on the pictures to enlarge them. They aren't the best quality, I know, but it would take years to upload the full-sized ones!)

Always classy

Awe, girl look at that body.

WANHAT 2014!!

Penkkarit

En sano niin paljon tästä, mutta pitää kirjoittaa vähän suomeksi :P Penkkarit oli aivan mahtava. Minä mietin koko aja ’Miks meillä ei ole jotakin näin? Mää haluan heittää karkkia!’ Ehkä kun minulla on minun ylioppiston päättäjäiset, minä pukeutun odosti ja heitän karkkia. Kaikki olisi ’mitä hänen ongelmia? Ah niin, hän oli vaihto-oppilas. He ovat aivan outo, vaihto-oppilat.’

Se oli masentava, kun kaikki toisen vouden puhuvat ensi vuodesta (vau sori, tuo oli mahtava lause). Minä olen surullinen, että minä en ole täällä Muhoksella ensi vuonna... Mutta minä voin katsoa kaikki kuvat ja kuvitella minä olin tuossa!  

JK. En tiedä kennen idea se oli, että oppetaja tekevät Chubby Bunny, mutta voi ei se oli hauska. Hyvin tehty! 

-----

Penkkarit was everything that they said it would be, and it was awesome. I arrived at school to see some of the best and worst costumes ever. Every single Abi (third year) went all out, and the result was fantastic! The whole school piled into the gym for a presentation full of funny songs (at least, I think they were funny, haha), strange gifts to teachers, and little shows put on by the teachers. The highlights were when the teachers were asked to ‘act out what the Abis would be doing tonight’, which of course turned into a party scene with teachers throwing up, passed out on the floor, or being the classic Finnish boy and sitting in the corner with a drin- *cough cough* energy drink. This was the final product:

Four teachers were also selected to play the game ‘Chubby Bunny’ which is, for those who don’t know, a game where you have a plate of marshmallows and have to shove as many in your mouth as you can, but with the addition of each marshmallow must say/ attempt to say “Chubby Bunny”. Props to the Abis who thought of this because it was hilarious. I almost peed my pants watching, and half the audience had tears in their eyes. Here are some of the best photos I took, when my hands were steady enough to capture a photo:

After this assembly, the third years got to eat the cakes that myself and other second years made the day before. The parents of the third years also came to the school at this point to speak with the teachers and enjoy the rest of the festivities. Conveniently, there was a Finland men’s hockey game against Austria at that time, so most of the third years sat glued to the TV, as well as many of the dads and even moms. After some socializing, the fun began again for the Abis…

Each of the third years was carried out to these big trailers by second years. I really mean carried out. Once they were all loaded into the trailers, they thanked us by throwing candy for us. I spent most of the time dodging the tasty projectiles, because some of those kids had quite an arm! One of the teachers had a helmet on, and a big bucket to collect the candy. He was obviously a veteran, because I would have loved a helmet at that point. Then, with a chorus of screams from the third years, the trucks drove off down the street to visit all the elementary schools in the Muhos area. Thankfully the weather had warmed up from the -20 degrees we had the previous weeks, so we didn’t lose any third years to the cold.

(Kiitos paljon Jemiina kuvasta!)

While the third years were impaling children with candy, the second years were stuck cleaning up the mess. I actually had fun cleaning up, and managed to dodge all the icing in the cake fight… but it was depressing to hear the second years talking about how it’ll all be their turn next year. I have really started to feel a part of this school, and knowing that I won’t be here to throw candy and dress up with them is quite sad.

PS. The one on the left is a guy, if you couldn't tell.

SAM AND FRODO

All the third years in their crazy costumes

After this long day I went home and mentally prepared myself for the vanhojen tanssit, which were the next day. I am writing all about this in another post, which will be up soon…ish…maybe. Haha no promises :P